Sole Street railway station explained

Sole Street
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Sole Street, Borough of Gravesham
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Southeastern
Platforms:2
Code:SOR
Classification:DfT category E
Opened:1 February 1861
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Sole Street railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Sole Street, near Cobham, Kent. It is 26chain71chain down the line from and is situated between and . The station is managed by Southeastern.

Office of Rail Regulation statistics suggest that the decline in traffic at Sole Street that has been noted since 2009/10 coincided with the opening of fast High Speed One services from nearby Strood.

History

The main line of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway was opened in stages. The section between (then named Strood) and was opened on 3 December 1860;[1] but Sole Street station opened later, on 1 February 1861.[2]

Facilities and Connections

The station has a ticket office which is open during the morning peak only (06:00-10:00 Mon-Fri). At other times, the station is unstaffed and tickets can be purchased from the self-service ticket machine at the station. The station is fitted with modern help points and covered seating is available on both platforms. The station also has toilets which are located in the stations ticket office. There is also a small chargeable car park located outside the main entrance to the station. The station has step free access to the London bound platform however access to the Kent bound platform is via the stepped footbridge only so is not accessible.[3]

The station is served infrequently Monday-Saturday by the route 416 bus operated by Redroute Buses which provides connections to Gravesend and Meopham.[4]

Services

All services at Sole Street are operated by Southeastern using, and EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria and Gillingham, increasing the service to 2 tph in each direction.

On Sundays, the service to Gillingham is extended to and from .

External links

51.3832°N 0.3781°W

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dendy Marshall . C.F. . Kidner . R.W. . Roger Kidner . History of the Southern Railway . 2nd . 1963 . 1937 . . Shepperton . 0-7110-0059-X . 327, 502 .
  2. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 158 .
  3. Web site: Sole Street Station Information. Southeastern, 2020.
  4. Web site: Routes 416/417 Timetable: Gravesend to Meopham or Cliffe. Traveline South East, 2020.